Aldi and beer

Yeah, in NYS a store can wine & liquor or beer, but not both. Liquor licensees are limited to the alcohol and a few accessories, like corkscrews, and can't even sell mixers.

 

hmmm. I find their cheeses (esp German and Dutch, but also English/Irish) to be very good. Their chocolate for the price(s) cannot be beat IMO. Select wines are good...and their basic probiotic yogurt is excellent. Been buying their chickpea salad lately and it's been great, accompanied by a $5.99 sixer of East German pils. Zero complaints. Now...if I want great European bread I have to go to LIDL...

 

One's coming soon to a spot near me!

 

we get their pretzels and rolls for our beer gardens. they bake 100+ for us on special order the same morning. great, authentic, and cheap.

 

It's also a local problem in Houston. No Wernesgrüner and also no Feldschlosschen as a winter seasonal.

 

My local Aldi has rotating Revolution and Goose Island seasonal and generally a flagship like Anti-Hero and 312. It's pretty great as the 6 packs are like 6.99ish

I haven't tried the no-name stuff, but, I'm inspired now

 

As others have said, Aldi in NY don't sell alcohol because of the costs associated with NY licensure. However, my (seriously limited) experience with Aldi and Rewe in Germany exceeded my expectations. Side note, Aldi Süd is far better than Aldi Nord, and I didn't know that they technically operated as separate entities.

I was on vacation, so, unlike @Snowcrash000, I enjoyed the experience for the novelty of it all, without having to deal with knowledge of better options one gets by being a local.

That being said, I was able to buy tall boys of Paulaner Hefeweißen, Benediktiner Helles, Löwenbräu, and a weißbier from Der Hirschbräu in cans for <€1 (the last two weren't great, but better than an American equivalent for the price point), and I was able to get 750ml bottles of Salvator for <€2, which was fantastic.

 

My local Aldi carries about 8 house brands and New Glarus. I like their IPA (Lift Bridge) for the price and their German offerings are fine. Prosecco and some of their wines are decent.

They have good cheeses, produce, great prices on organic milk, etc. I am a fan.

 

We have three Aldi's here in town and they've really stepped up their beer selection. Their standard fair of Germans, Belgians and Dutch beers is serviceable and great for the price point. The seasonal 16 oz. German 4-packs are very good and they've added multiple selections from Highlands and Foothills. The wine selection is always interesting and offers great values everywhere. The best Aldi here is less than two miles away from a very nice Trader Joe's and we go to both every Tuesday, and then to a neighborhood Wal-Mart (smaller store) that is actually quite nice. We love Aldi and Trader Joe's.

 

Ok, one next to my work so slipped in today. They don't have the German Pils, but they have their other offerings plus Natti Light, Coors, Shiner and some local sold out craft player. As for the meat where someone said it wasn't up to par, checked all the meat packages today and it is all USDA graded Choice, which is what most grocery stores sell, Prime being the best $$. I go there every now and then just for the hell of it and stock up on chocolate, cheese and milk is always dirt cheap there. I have found the stores here in Houston are always clean, they have upped their wine game in the one I shopped at today (I think each store caters to the area).

 

WUT?????


I thought NG didn't sell outside of Sconnie, period.

 

The cheese and chocolates are fantastic. Our Aldi nearest to us is great and the fresh vegetable offering has been made better by multiples. I do not buy much meat at Aldi because we don't eat much meat. If I want a great steak I do not go to Aldi. At Aldi I can always find beer and wines that I want to try...

 

Cheese and chocolate - agreed that they are good, but TJs and Costco has them beat in my book. The Costco Dutch gouda is top shelf young gouda, the English cheddars are phenomenal.

 

Wtf is Aldi? Had to look that up, nearest one in Fresno. Euro foods? Cool. But for beer, just go to Safeway, Whole foods, TW or Bevmo. All within 2 miles, gas station is closer. Good/bad thing.

 

The beer choices offer something different, variety, and good value. I really do like having different beers around to continually relearn world beer. Aldi has found a great niche in American consumer awareness. I buy beer at lots of places but find the Aldi value choices a constant nice change of pace.

 

Your Aldi is probably the closest one to me. Let me know when ya go; I'm in on some cheap chocolate, cheese. And Lagers!

 

I'm in Fresno and didn't even know we had one

 

I like their Folded Mountains Pale Ale. It's nothing spectacular but at $6.99 a six pack it's a nice alternative to SNPA once in a while.

I have no first hand knowledge but if I had to wager I would bet you are wrong about the product not moving fast. For me, personally grocery stores are where I go to find fresh beer. It's the liquor/beer stores that often have beers that have beer sitting on the shelves for many months or even several years in some cases.

First off, I don't think whether Aldi is known for beer matters much, because everyone who shops there will see they have beer and then if they are a beer drinker, they will likely take a closer look to see if they have a lower price on whatever brands they normally drink (since Aldi is known for low prices).

Next, consider their business model. My local Aldi probably only carries about 10-12 different beers and they don't stock particularly large amounts of any of them. That means that anyone who buys beer there is buying one of those 10-12 beers. If a particular beer is consistently selling poorly they can remove it and replace it with another beer. Compare this with a liquor store downtown that is known for beer but has over 300 different beers. Not only does the liquor store have far fewer people moving through it every day but the vast majority of those people are probably buying wine, liquor or one of the top 100 best selling beers. That leaves 200 beers just sitting on the shelves, day after day, month after month.

This is just something I've noticed buying beer at liquor stores vs places like Meijer, Kroger, Whole Foods and Trader's Joe's. Don't see why Aldi would be much different. I know the beer moves fast at these stores because you can literally see it disappearing off the shelves. When a seasonal comes out, it will usually sell out completely a month or two after the season is over, whereas it's not uncommon to find last year's seasonal still on the shelves at liquor stores. Happened to me last year when Cabin Fever Brown Ale came out I bought some at a liquor store only to check the date when I got home and realize it was from the year before. I don't know if it's the same where you guys are, that's just been my experience with the liquor/beer stores around here.

 

I go to the ones local to me once or twice a week...to buy produce.
What I buy is always way cheaper and fresher than the grocery stores and\or Target. The beer selection is pretty lacking, however, and all they really have is their off-brand selections and NG Spotted Cow and usually whatever their last seasonal offering was.